Clairo and Her Teenage Hero in "Alewife"

Unlike some other artists out there that like to open their albums with a bang, Claire Cottrill, or professionally called Clairo, did it to her almost 2-year-old debut album Immunity at rock bottom instead. The 3 minute and 33-second-long track "Alewife" starts with a melancholic piano that is filled with gloom, giving that sad feeling. The haunting and lonely sounding track has such a heartbreaking story to tell.

Some will probably wonder what the name of the track means, especially those who live outside the United States. Alewife is the name of a train station that is near where the 22-year-old singer lived, as she sings in the first verse of the song, “In Massachusetts only 30 minutes from Alewife, I lay in my room wondering why I’ve got this life.” I know, that’s already depressing. Early teenage years can be tough for some people, including Clairo. "Alewife" talks about her suicide attempt, back when she was in eighth grade. Quoting from her interview with Paper, Clairo said she didn’t want the song to tell about how sad that night was, instead she wanted to express her gratitude towards her friend Alexa who stopped her from doing so. “You called me seven times, one, two, three, four, on the line,” recalls Clairo in the second verse of the song.

I adore the songwriting itself, where Clairo just had to put out short lyrics, composed with 3 verses. Despite its simplicity, one of the most memorable things about the song is how it’s accompanied by the awesome and plaintive drums, played by Haim’s frontwoman Danielle Haim—who was involved in the whole production of the album—till the end of the song. Personally, I love how the song ends perfectly with something that sounds like a phone calling, probably intented to illustrate the way Alexa kept calling Clairo on the phone. Learning about what the song actually means, "Alewife" has been one of my favourites from Clairo now.

I’ve decided to have the Syracuse University-attendee as one of my favourite artists, with her affectionate and personal lyrics that she puts out every time. Meant to play at the Indonesian music festival We the Fest in August last year, Clairo had cancelled all her shows due to the global pandemic just like other acts. Immunity is out on many major streaming platforms via FADER, if you fancy to give a listen.